Collaboration between School and Home to Improve Subjective Well-being: A New Chinese Children’s Subjective Well-being Scale

Children’s psychological well-being is critical for students’ school performance and mental health. This study developed the Chinese Children’s Subjective Well-being Scale and explored an appropriate strategy to improve children’s subjective well-being from the collaboration between school and home perspective. Based on a literature review, focus group interviews, expert validity, factor structure and confirmatory factor analysis, this study developed the Chinese Children’s Subjective Well-being Scale. We then enrolled 289 grade 3–6 students from a public primary school in southeastern China to conduct multiple linear regression analysis. The Chinese Children’s Subjective Well-being Scale had good reliability and validity. Homework anxiety was negatively associated with subjective well-being (β = -0.21. p = 0.011). Family interaction and support improved subjective well-being. Less parental supervision and family conflict could buffer the negative effect of homework anxiety on subjective well-being. The Chinese Children’s Subjective Well-being Scale can be used with primary school students in China. This study also recommended that governments and education practitioners focus on optimizing collaboration between school and home to improve children’s subjective well-being by reducing their homework anxiety and increasing the harmonious family atmosphere (more family interaction and support and less parental supervision and family conflict).